Tag Archives: Interthinx

Mortgage fraud risk is being lowered by changes in residential origination practices and new regulation. According to a Fitch Ratings report released Tuesday, since the financial crisis, risk of fraud and misrepresentation has declined. "A key driver behind the poor performance ...

The findings align with CoreLogic's latest fraud report, which revealed application fraud risk was down across all categories—except home equity lending, which has seen risk indicators rise as demand grows.

Risk of fraud in property valuations spiked in the first quarter, according to a report released Wednesday by risk analytics firm Interthinx. Analysts for Interthinx attribute the increase in valuation fraud risk to a rise in buyers purchasing and listing multiple properties in the same neighborhood.

For the second straight year, Washington, D.C., is the place lenders are most likely to encounter mortgage fraud, according to the annual Mortgage Fraud Risk Report released by Interthinx. This continues the rising trend in fraud risk observed over the past three years as inventories shrink, prices rise, and markets stabilize.

In its latest quarterly Mortgage Fraud Risk Report, Interthinx revealed first-quarter mortgage fraud risk was up 1 percent over last quarter and was unchanged from the same quarter in 2012. California was the riskiest state in the nation, boasting a mortgage fraud risk index of 125. In addition, four of the top 10 riskiest ZIP codes and five of the top 10 riskiest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs)--including Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, the top riskiest metro--call the Golden State home.

According to Interthinx's yearly Mortgage Fraud Risk Report--based on analysis of loan applications processed throughout 2012 by Interthinx's FraudGUARD system--the 2012 Annual Mortgage Fraud Index was 150, a 3.4 percent rise from 2011's index reading of 145. While the East housed more risky states last year, the West was home to two of the riskiest--Nevada and Arizona, which ranked first and third in terms of risk, respectively.

In the fourth quarter of last year, the risk of mortgage fraud elevated to the highest level since 2009, Interthinx reported Tuesday. According to the company's Mortgage Fraud Risk Report, the mortgage fraud risk index climbed to 159, representing a 16 percent increase from Q3 2012 and 9 percent increase from Q4 2011. Interthinx pinpointed the source of the increase to a surge in property valuation fraud risk, which rose 25 percent from Q3.

The national mortgage fraud index fell to the lowest level in two years after spiking in the previous quarter, according to data from Interthinx. The mortgage fraud index dropped to 137 in the third quarter of this year, down 7.7 percent from the previous quarter and 4.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago. The number of metropolitan areas in the very high risk category also declined, falling to 70 in the third quarter from 91 in the second quarter. But, just two states--California and Florida-- accounted for more than half of the very high risk metros.

Interthinx announced Monday it is teaming up with Middleberg Riddle & Gianna's MRG Document Technologies group to provide financial institutions with assistance in addressing legal and regulatory requirements.

Interthinx has set October 8, 2012 as the date for FraudGuard Evolution to go live.